ghost home

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ghost home (plural ghost homes)

1. (idiomatic, real estate) A residence intentionally kept vacant by an absentee owner, especially a foreign investor, as a financially safe asset to be liquidated at a convenient time.
   • 2015 April 24, Joshua Alvarez, “Real Estate: Are ‘ghost homes’ becoming a problem?”, in Palo Alto Online, US, retrieved 27 April 2018:

     The house is an example of what is popularly referred to as a "ghost home," a property owned by a nonresident (sometimes noncitizen) who has no plans on ever moving in.

   • 2017 May 13, Jimmy Thomson, "Ghost investment properties could be harder to exorcise than it seems," domain.com (Australia) (retrieved 27 April 2018):

     So then we get to the deliberate ghost home investors. How do we tell that the empty flat has been purposely left unoccupied?

   • 2018 April 26, Natalie Obiko Pearson, “Ghost-home tax fills Vancouver coffers but rentals remain scarce”, in Financial Post, Canada, retrieved 27 April 2018:

     The outcome of the new tax is being watched closely as cities around the world struggle with the rise of so-called ghost homes: scarcely used residences in prime urban locations seen by investors as a safe way to park their cash.

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